"I Hate Christianity"

I've spent some time perusing atheist and anti-Christian boards, because sometimes that's the easiest way to see where we've failed as a Church.  And to be honest, it doesn't take long to see where we've failed.  Over and over, time and time again, I watch "Christians" attack athiests for their beliefs.  Here are just a few things I've seen so-called Christians say when atheists express their disdain for us:

"I believe in free speech, but this is too far!  How dare you blaspheme my god!" [yes, it was a lowercase "g"].

"Hollywood has a Satanic agenda to brainwash our kids!  As Christians, we have to say enough!" [I'm assuming this person meant "we have to say 'enough is enough'"].

And my personal favorite:

"REPENT OR BURNWHICHIS WAHT U DSERVVE!!" [Love the spelling on that one . . . real classy].

So when I hear atheists say that Christians are morons, I can see why they would say that.  When they call Christians judgmental, I can see why they would say that.  When they call Christians hypocritical, I can see why they would say that.

What we as Christians seem to be doing is holding sinners to a higher standard than we hold ourselves.  We worship the idol of money, and criticize them for not worshiping anything.  We ask them to tone down the sexuality on television, but we keep our lusts and emotional adulteries in the back of our minds, just within easy reach.  We expect them not to blaspheme a God in Whom they don't even believe.  Well, from their perspective, they're not blaspheming - you can't insult something you don't think is there.

The justification we use, of course, is that they attack us all the time.  And that's true.  Full-out persecution of the Church still goes on in much of the world - and I mean executions of Christians.  There are people out there on message boards who quite literally want all Christians wiped off the face of the planet.  I read that, though, and rather than get angry at them, I just get sad.  I get sad because it means they've been mistreated by the Church at some point in time.  I get sad because it means they've never had an example of an actual disciple of Christ - all they've ever known are nominal Christians.  I get sad because they themselves have been attacked by people who should be filled with compassion.

Why has this happened?  How have we become so un-Christlike?  I think it happens because we forget who the enemy is.  Our enemy is not the atheist who lives next door.  Our enemy is not the sinner at our job.  Our enemy is not Hollywood.  Our enemy is Satan, and - pay attention! - we are not supposed to fight him.  Satan loses in the end, and we have nothing to do with it.  Christ defeated sin and death . . . and He will defeat Satan.

Our job is a rescue operation, not an offensive.  Our job is to show the POW's the way out, not shoot them in the head.  And while - sadly - many of them have developed a "spiritual Stockholm's syndrome" and refuse to be rescued, our job is still not to attack.  Our job is to point to Christ, rather than morals; the Cross, rather than the Law.

People will attack us - Christ made that very clear.  But maybe we should stop giving them extra reasons.       

Hypocrites Anonymous

I once received a bitter salvo from an anti-Christian.  "You Christians are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites," he spat (one, he actually did spit when he talked, but two, I like the word "spat").  Ever had that accusation thrown at you?


"You're no better than the rest of us!"

"You have this high 'moral code' and don't like when anyone violates it, but you violate it yourselves!"

"You're hypocrites!"

My answer to all three of these accusations is always the same:  yes.  The meaning of the word hypocrite is two-faced.  To believe one thing and do another is a two-faced thing to do.  We know it's wrong to worship anything other than God, but we do it anyway.  We seek out money in the hopes that it will bring us joy and security, even though we know that God alone "fills [our] heart[s] with greater joy than when . . . grain and new wine abound" and that we "lie down and sleep in peace for You alone, O Lord, make [us] dwell in safety" (Psalm 4: 7-8).  We worship food and sex.

We know it's wrong to lie, but we lie:  "Hi!  How are you?"  "Fine, thanks!  Everything's wonderful!  God's really blessed me!"  (okay, so God has blessed us, but how often do we say it without believing it?).

We know it's wrong to steal, but we pirate movies and music.

We know it's wrong to be hypocritical, but we are anyway.

In fact, we do have a "moral code" (we just call it God's Word), and we often fail to live up to it.  We are, in fact, no better than anyone else.  But here's the deal Mr. Anti-Christian:  that doesn't let you off the hook.

You see, God doesn't look at you and judge you by the way I live.  God looks at you and judges you for your life, He looks at my neighbor and judges him for his life, and He looks at me and judges me for my life.  In Ezekiel 18, God makes it abundantly clear that our choices - that is, whether we submit to Christ in humility and discipleship, or continue on in our sin, unrepentant - determine our eternity.  Our eternity is not determined by our comparison to others.  God does not look at me and then look at the atrocities of World War II and say, "We'll, he didn't take part in that, so I guess I'll let him in!"

Revelation paints an interesting picture of what the Judgment will look like.  Check it out:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  The lake of fire is the second death.  If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (20:11-15, NIV).

Two of the five verses state that we will all be judged according to what we have done.  So know this, if I am a jerk, or a hypocrite, or any number of other things, it's going to come up when I stand before God.  My sins will be read, out loud, before the Creator of the universe.  So will yours, my friend.

All of them.

But, thank God, the judgment doesn't end there.  Notice the end of that passage:  If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.  This tells me two things.  The first is that no one goes through the first judgment with an acquittal.  "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life. . . ."  The fact that they have to move on to the second book tells me that everyone is found guilty in the first book.  Our deeds come up wanting.

The second thing that this tells me is that salvation is dependent on my deeds, but only if I deny the grace of Christ.  Why do I say this?  Because if my name is not found written in the book of life, the first judgment stands:  guilty.  If your name, Mr. Atheist, is not found in the book of life (and how could it, if you don't even believe in the Author of the book?), your deeds will determine your judgment:  guilty.  And then there's grace.       

Grace is why Christ's death is so important.  It demonstrates His love for us - a love that is so great that He is willing to serve your guilty sentence on your behalf.  But more than that, He takes His innocence and puts it on you.  So when the charges are read, Christ is there to say, "That's already been served.  Check the record and see for yourself."  And so there, in the book of life, is a name.  A name that could be yours.

So while yes, I am often a hypocrite, and yes, that is unacceptable, know two things:  first, I'm in a program to help me with that - it's called discipleship.  Sometimes (often times) I fall off the wagon, but I still keep on keeping on.  Second, know that your deeds are your sentence, but God, Who desires that no one would ever go to Hell, has died and taken those deeds upon Himself.  All you have to do is believe that.

Get your name written in the book of life.